When you search from an item on Amazon’s marketplace, you may find that one of the products has been labeled “Amazon’s Choice.” Not surprisingly, this specific item will catch your attention with its black, white and orange badge.

As an online seller, you’ve probably wondered about the meaning of Amazon’s Choice. Why does Amazon give its nod to certain items but not others? How does Amazon’s Choice program even work?

There are a lot of questions. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of answers. You can, however, use some tips to improve your chance of getting more Amazon Choice items listed in your store. There are great benefits of recieving the stamp of marketplace's approval, as it increases user's trust to your product and ultimately your brand. But what stands behind Amazon's Choice?

What Is Amazon’s Choice?

Amazon Choice started as a feature that helped people shop on voice-operated devices like the Echo. Without a screen, it’s difficult for shoppers to compare products. Amazon made the selection process easier by mentioning that one of the items had its stamp of approval. 

Eventually, Amazon’s Choice migrated to the online marketplace. If you search Amazon for “electric lawn mowers,” you’ll get a list of products that match your query. Only one of those items, however, will have the Amazon’s Choice label.

How Does Amazon Select Amazon’s Choice Products?

No one knows very much about Amazon’s Choice algorithm. In fact, Amazon refuses to say how it chooses products that receive the badge. To make the situation even more frustrating, merchants that get the Amazon’s Choice badge don’t even know why they receive it.

Amazon may not want you to know how it selects its Choice products, but some information has leaked to the public. Most of the information, though, is about what doesn’t affect Amazon’s decision. For instance, sellers know that:

• They cannot pay Amazon for the Choice badge.
• Amazon doesn’t make its decision based on product tests.
• Third-party companies, including review websites, don’t have an influence over Amazon Choice.

How Can You Get Your Products Listed as Amazon Choice?

At this point, you might feel like giving up on Amazon’s Choice. If you don’t know how to get the badge, then what’s the point of trying?

Don’t give up too quickly! While Amazon refuses to say much about its Choice program, there are a few features that seem to influence the company’s choices.

If you want to get your product on the Amazon Choice list, then you should focus on:

• Receiving positive reviews from your customers, which means - providing an exceptional service.
• Keeping your prices as low as possible so your item will stand out from those sold by competitors.
• Using item-specific keywords that help customers find relevant products.

At the moment, keywords seem to play a larger role than the other factors. If you search for “electric lawn mowers,” Amazon’s Choice will go to a specific item. If you search for “battery powered lawn mowers,” though, Amazon may give the badge to a different product.

Since you have limited information about Amazon’s Choice program, it makes sense for you to focus on what you can control. For instance, you can learn to “wow” the Amazon search ranking algorithm. Why not focus on improving your product’s ranking instead of worrying about a badge that Amazon doesn’t want to discuss?

The meaning behind Amazon's choice has swithced from simply being a stmp of approval to the guarantee of quality. So, obviously, you want your products to get Amazon’s Choice badge. When it comes down to it, though, you have to wonder about the benefits of having an Amazon Best Seller or Amazon’s Choice badge.

Feel free to tweak your descriptions and improve your customer service. You may or may not win Amazon’s Choice badge. Regardless, you will improve your ecommerce business’s ability to sell more items.

Should You Bother with Amazon’s Choice?

So, the question remains: should you optimize your listings for Amazon's Choice? At this time, "No" seems like the right answer because no one knows enough about how Amazon makes its decisions.

Still, you should follow good practices that will help you become a more successful seller on Amazon. Theoretically, following smart listing and customer service practices may help your products become Amazon's Choice. Don't worry about whether you get the badge, though. You'll end up spending a lot of time trying to win a game without knowing the rules.

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